Ball caster



M. A. MICHAELS.

BALL CASTER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. Io. 1929.

1,438,543. l I Patented Da. 12,1922.

gmc/Iton vPatented Der.. l2, 1922.

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MAURICE A. TEICHAELS, OF lv'LERIDEN, CONNEC'IICUT, ASSIGNOR TO JULES ltJl.1\l'G'()'l,y

" tem Narm.

or MERIDEN, CoNNncrieU'r.

.BALL CASTER.

y Application filed September 10, 1920. Serial No. 499,424.

To all whom t 'muy concern.:

Be 1t known that l, Maureen A. MICHAELS,

a citizen of the United .States of America,

It is the principal object of my invention to provide a very simple and efficient caster.

It is a further object to provide a caster which can be made of stamped-out parts for cheapening'the construction.

Other objects and advantages will appear` as the specification proceeds.

My invention in its preferred form comprises a sheet metal housing having one or more apertures therein, through which one or more balls partially extend. A.. plate,

preferably of hardened metal.. holds the balls in place in the housing and provides a bearing surface for the balls. The plate is held in place by bent edges of the housings which may also serve to secure the easter to a support, such as the leg of an article of furniture.

In the drawings, which show merely preferred forms of my invention Figure 1 is a sectional view of an assem` bled caster, taken substantially in the plane of the line 1-1 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of an assembled caster;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of 'an assembled caster;

Fig. 4 is a view of the blank from which i my caster housing is formed;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 1, showing a modified form; and Fig. 6 is a view of the usual caster pintle having means for securing my improved caster thereto.

In said drawings, 1 indicates a blank from which the housing is made. rlhis blank may be of any suitable material, preferably of sheet metal, which may be easily stamped. The blank is provided with one or more ears 2, and these ears are preferably sharpened on the ends, as indicated at 3. The metal of the blank proper is preferably cut in adjacent the ears a distance equal to the thickness of the metal, as indicated at Ll, for a purpose to be afterward described. One or more apertures, such as 5, are formed in the blank, and a slight burr, extending outwardly, may be left thereon, to provide a bearing'surface for a ball and to hold the latter in the housing. rlhe blank is stamped. up to form a cupt), and a shoulder 7 is pref erably formed in the cup.

y After one or more balls have been placed in the housing' and slipped into the apertures 5,`a plate 8,' preferably of hardened steel, is placed inthe housing and may rest on. the shoulder 7. ln the particular formshown the ears 2 are next bent inwardly and over the plate 8, to secure thelatterv in place in the housing. By having the blank 'or housing cut inwardly slightly, as indicated` at 4L, the ears are bent so that the outer surface of each ear will come substantially flush with the upper end -9 of theheusing, as iudicated in Figs. 1 and 5. I

'The points 3 of the earsA arebent to proliect upwardly above the housingand may be driven into an article of furniture for se curing the caster thereto. It is perfectly obvious that other means, such as a screw or nail 10, may be used in place of the sharplened ears for securing the caster to an article of furniture.

ln the form of caster shown in Fig. lthe plate 8 is shown as a plain, flat plate. .ln the modification shownin-Fig. 5 l have shown a plate having` a slightly spherical surface. The reason for this form of plate will now be explained. yWith a caster cony taining a plurality of balls it is improbable that all the balls will be in Contact with the Hoor and the plate `at the same time; this for the reason that most floors are comparatively irregular on the surface. `With a plate such :1s 11. with aeonvex or spherically curved surface, the ball which is Contact with the plate and the floor will cause the plate te slide and tend to let the ball which is in Contact with the floor recede into the housing, and this lowering of the housing will permit the other 'ball or balls, which were previously not in contact with the Hoor, to come into Contact therewith. Therefore, with the plate convex or spherically curved shape, all of the balls will be in conv tact with the floor at the same time and each` will bear its proper proportion of the load. As shown. in Fig. 5, the plate 11 isloosely mounted and is held in the housing by means of the ears 2, in the same way that the plate 8 is held in Fig. 1. 'y

It may sometimes happenthat the means CIK ' method Q2 nii-sanas described lor securing the caster to support 'would he incapable or use with articles of iu'niture in existence, which are equipped to take the usual forni of pintle casters. l

have therefore shown in G a usual form of pintle l5, adapted to enter the usual hole in the leg of an article of furniture, and on the bottom oi: the pintle is shovvn a plate 16, having a` series of ap rturesjlf? therein through Which the ears 2 may be inserted and hent oven to hold .my improved caster lo the piAJ l" is obvious that the of attachment just described is merely illustrative and one of many which could he devised.

gs/While l have described in detail specific ferr is of my invention, l wish it to be understood that various niodilioations and changes he made all coming Within the scope of vthe appended Claims.

aim: t

n' a ball casterj a housing having an apert e the" in extending partiall;7 through said aperture, a bearing plate in said housing for Contact with said ball, and an ai' on said housing` `for holdii said plate in place7 the upper surface of said ear heing substantially flush with the upper edge of said housing When the parts are assemblech a prong on said ear,

llc l.

a ball in said 'housing and said ear and prong being supported by said plate to resist force applied in driving in said caster.

2. In a ball caster7 a housing having a plurality of apertures there-in, balls in said housing and extending partiall7 through said apertures, a bearing plate in said lious ing and having a convex surface for Contact with said balls, means .for holding said plate in said housing, said plate being loosely mounted in the housing WherebT when the caster is upon an uneven surface the plate may move in the housing to permit all of the balls to engage both they plate and the un! even surface.

ln av hallr caetera.' a housing having an aperture therein, a ball in said housing and extending partially through said aperture, a bearing vplate in said housing for, Contact with saidv ball, and an ear on said housing for holding saidlplate ill place7V said ear hav! ing a sharpened end or attachment to a leg and extending a substantial distance inwardly from, the edge of the housing Wherehy the caster may be applied to a leg of smaller diameter` than the caster and the sharpened end of the ear driven into vthe leg a substantial distance away from the edge of the latter. i

MAURICE A. MICHAELS. 

